Santa Barbara, Calif. -
A pair of games against USC, a three game series at San Jose State, and a round-robin tournament hosted by Pepperdine that includes Houston and Washington highlight a tough non-conference schedule for UC Santa Barbara baseball in 2003. In all, the Gauchos will play seven non-conference games against teams that made the post season last year.

UCSB will take on NCAA participants Houston and Washington in a round-robin series in Malibu, CA on February 7-8. The Gauchos will take on the host school, Pepperdine, in the tournament. National power USC meets Santa Barbara at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium on February 4 and in Los Angeles on April 22. UCSB will also travel to San Jose to take on the Spartans February 14-16.

The Gauchos' conference schedule is as tough as always this year. Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, and Cal State Fullerton add twelve more games against NCAA playoff teams. Northridge, the defending Big West champions, come to town for a three-game non-conference series starting March 28. UCSB heads south for three conference games in Northridge starting May 2. The Long Beach State will be in Santa Barbara for three games April 25-27. The Gauchos travel to Fullerton for a three-game set on April 17-19.

Santa Barbara opens up its tough Big West conference when UC Irvine visits on Friday, April 4 for a weekend series. The University of Pacific will be in town May 9-11. The Gauchos travel to face UC Riverside on April 11-13. UCSB wraps up the regular season when rival Cal Poly visits for three games May 16-18. The Gauchos will also play another non-conference series against Riverside March 14-16 at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.

The season starts off for UCSB with a three game home series against San Diego State and new head coach Tony Gwynn on January 31. Coach Gwynn will be making his first visit since taking over the reigns for the Aztecs. The Gauchos and UCLA will split two games, each getting one at home. February 18 has the game in Santa Barbara, and May 6 sees the game being played in Westwood. Another split series faces local Westmont College against UCSB. The Gauchos host Westmont on April 2 after traveling down the road March 5.

Santa Barbara travels to face Oregon State for three games starting March 22. This series is the only time during the regular season that UCSB plays outside of California. Other non-conference games have Santa Clara and Sacramento State playing back-to-back weekend series in Santa Barbara starting February 21 and 28 respectively. The Gauchos also travel to Los Angeles to visit Loyola Marymount on March 7-9. One exhibition game is scheduled against Keio University of Japan. That game will be at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium on March 4.

Should the Gauchos advance, the postseason starts May 30 for the opening round Regionals. The College World Series, held as always in Omaha, Nebraska, is being conducted June 13-21.